


Fools Rush in, But Angels...

by RiaZendira



Category: White Collar
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-08
Updated: 2011-12-08
Packaged: 2017-10-27 02:40:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/290769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiaZendira/pseuds/RiaZendira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stories I’m not writing for real -- which is to say, this could be 20K words and have actual dialogue, but no, let's stick to what it is: The one where Neal has very unfortunate fortunate luck, Elizabeth is actually a wealthy socialite who married Peter for love, and Peter is still Peter, but with better tastes in appropriate anniversary gifts...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fools Rush in, But Angels...

The thing is, Neal never would have been caught if it hadn’t been for a particularly ill-timed smile. Aimed at an attractive brunette (during a research trip into what turned out later to be a failed lead on the location of a particularly nice, and reportedly nicely unguarded, Cezanne) while walking through the foyer of a mansion in France, that smile was the beginning of his downfall even if he didn’t realize it at the time. How was he to know that the brunette in question happened to come with an equally attractive and obsessively inquisitive FBI agent husband? He wasn’t of course. Nor was he to be held accountable for the fact that he may or may not have been checking out the husband’s ass about two seconds before aiming said fate-sealing smile at the brunette. Look, they were both really pretty, ok? And Neal had always been a sucker for pretty things... more so when they came in perfectly neat pairs. 

At the time of course, Neal kept walking through the building, out the back door of the kitchen, where he’d exited onto a tiny lane where Mozzie had been waiting in the itty bitty European car, engine idling. Once again Mozzie’s paranoia had paid off for Neal, as he got into the car just as the man with the hot ass came running out the door after him, gorgeous brunette not far behind. Slamming the car door shut and tossing Mozzie a completely unnecessary command to floor it, he couldn’t quite resist the urge to blow the attractive couple a flirty kiss out the window as they faded from view.  He had no idea why they were suddenly chasing him, but really, in his line of work, when people start running after you, it usually pays to run the other way.

The incident only sticks out in his mind because he can’t figure out why the lovely couple would have been pursuing him. They couldn’t have known him, he hadn’t actually done anything illegal or really even vaguely suspicious while in the mansion (he’d even had an invite... a   
legitimate _un-forged_   invite to the party).  Other than the fact that he’d been casing the place (discreetly,  _incredibly_   discreetly) he’d been so legit he’d even attended the party under his real name. After all, he wasn’t even the one who was supposed to steal the painting (if it had actually  _been_   there), that was Alex’s gig. If he hadn’t had to leave already, and they hadn’t run after him, he would probably have stopped to chat. And yet, something had told him not to stay when he’d seen the man burst out of the kitchen door so quickly. 

Nine months later as he’s standing in front of a judge hearing himself sentenced to a not so luxurious stay in one of his home nation’s finer white collar penitentiaries, he’s changed his mind about the significance of the encounter in France, but by then it’s too late. Standing in the courtroom with him at the time, his arresting agent (turns out hot-ass is also known as Agent Peter Burke) wears a look of triumph mingled with almost confused pain as the sentencing goes down. To the back of the room in the observers section, Elizabeth Burke,   
_the_ Elizabeth Burke, watches them both. 

Neal spares a moment to wonder where his brain had been that he hadn’t fully recognized the wealthy socialite when he’d smiled at her so many months ago. And then another moment to ponder the truly astonishing coincidence of her and her husband,  _ the  FBI Agent _ , attending the same party he’d sauntered innocently through. The party he’d been so sure wouldn’t hold the slightest risk to attend because a thorough check of the guest list hadn’t yielded anyone who should even have known him through 6 degrees of separation, let alone knew his face from reading through files of his alleged crimes.  Mentally smacking himself again for his dumb luck, he wondered why the heck Peter Burke had not only recognized him so quickly, but then later become head agent in the pursuit of him. Really, this shit shouldn’t happen outside the movies. 

He gets a remarkably short sentence, they didn’t catch him for much after all.  He’s still stunned that he got caught at all. Leaving the court room, head held stubbornly, charmingly, high, he spots Elizabeth and Peter both looking his way, friendly consoling smiles on their faces.  As if this whole situation couldn’t get any stranger, it seems like they expect him to react in some way. Drawing upon memory, he settles this time for an inquisitive tilt of his head and challenging wink. Blowing a kiss just doesn’t have the same style when you have to do it in handcuffs. 

A week later, Peter shows up at the prison and offers Neal a deal. Get out of jail free, serve his time as a consultant with the FBI, working side by side with Peter. And at the end of it, in a few years, go back to whatever he wants as a free man. Neal’s smart, doesn’t take him 5 minutes flirting with Peter to realize this is a situation he can play, and if it gets unbearable, easily figure out a way to run from.  Even with state of the art tracking devices these days, there’s more than one way to run a con. Of course, Neal’s pretty sure that help with his case load isn’t Peter’s only motive. And since when does he call the man “Peter” anyway? Ankle tracker locked on, he walks out the prison gate to be greeted with a smile by the man he never thought he would see twice, let alone be caught by. 

Neal spends a few days still feeling like he’s caught in the odd inertia caused by the shock of his capture and subsequent sort-of-release, but starts to remember he’s a man of action after his first few cases with Peter go south and only he can save them. He kind of likes that it’s really true: only he can save them. Being one of the good guys against such talented bad guys is almost as much fun as being one of the bad guys. Of course, the pay and accommodations aren’t nearly as nice, but hey, the scenery can’t be beat. And he likes how Peter smiles bigger and bigger with every great idea Neal tosses out. 

The first time Peter invites Neal to dinner at his house, Neal gets that odd impression that there’s a hidden motive again, but it passes quickly, and Neal really would like to see Elizabeth again. Elizabeth is every bit as gorgeous and intriguing as she was when they first met and conversed in passing over a glass of vaguely inferior champagne all those months ago. Right before he apparently made the mistake of giving her husband the once over before tendering his regrets and going to leave the party.  If anything, Elizabeth is even more charming and flirtatious than she was all those months ago.  It’s patently unfair that the Burkes have clearly decided to charm him and tease him with brains and beauty, while being so very taken with each other. 

It’s months later when he finally realizes that first night was the beginning of the seduction. It’s years later when he makes the connection that Peter didn’t catch him because he was a criminal, but rather because Elizabeth Burke wanted him, and what Elizabeth wants, apparently she gets. Of course, by then, he’s long since figured out that what the Burkes want is exactly what he wants too.  He has a brief moment of panic where he thinks about running, snipping the ankle tracker and sneaking away from the bizarre movie of the week turn of events his life has taken. It’s right before his sentence is almost up, and right after he comes to the realization that he actually enjoys his job. His job catching criminals who are exactly like he used to be (well ok, some are far worse than he ever was because they do the whole killing and guns thing, but still, it feels like he’s violated some sort of sacred covenant for a while).  

Elizabeth seems to sense the tension in him, and watches him more carefully for a few days. Reaching out to reel him into her arms frequently, and chastising Peter not to over work him. Peter never seems to notice that Neal is a potential flight risk, but only gives El an odd look at her admonishments, and walks over to join their hug already in progress.  Neal wakes up hours later, sandwiched between two warm bodies, knowing that when the anklet comes off, he’ll be staying. As scary as the thought is, it’s probably just easier if he doesn’t keep trying to run away from these two. They’ll only catch him again anyway, and running away when everything you want is where you are is a damned fool thing to do. And Neal, well he may have had some very odd luck at times, but he's never been a fool. 

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at: http://riazendira.dreamwidth.org/13900.html where more author's notes are available.


End file.
